Money Can Buy Ads. It Can't Cast a Ballot.

Political campaigns spend a lot of time trying to convince us that money is power.

Each election cycle, what do we see? Millions of dollars in television ads, super PACs with names most of us have never heard of before. Consultants, polling, mailers, endorsements, and enough digital advertising to make you consider throwing your phone right into the mighty Mississippi.

Of course, money matters in politics. But eventually Election Day arrives, and every one of those millions of dollars runs into the same exact problem.

Money cannot fill in the bubble, only voters do that.

On this past Tuesday, Minnesotans reminded us just how much that still matters.

The Sixth Is Set

First, the big news here at home…drumroll please…

Doug is officially our DFL nominee for Congress in Minnesota’s Sixth District!

With all 276 precincts reporting, 48,394 votes were cast for Doug in Tuesday’s uncontested DFL primary. (Who else was super excited to fill in Doug’s first bubble?!!)

That means the matchup we have spent months preparing for is here.

Doug “The Champ” Chapin versus Tom “Empty Suit” Emmer.

Ready for Better versus more of the same.

There was another number Tuesday night that deserves some attention, and certainly something for Emmer’s campaign to lose some serious sleep over.

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Yes, ol’ Tommy won his Republican primary.

But.

Nearly one in five Republican primary voters did not vote for him.

Emmer received 53,087 votes, or 80.91%. Mike Foley received 10,022 and Chris Corey received another 2,502.

Put all that together and you get 12,524 Republican voters, 19.1% of the GOP electorate in this race, chose someone other than Tom Emmer. Ouch.

It’s worthy of smiling over that’s for sure, but we should be careful about reading too much into what that means. It doesn’t mean all 12,524 of those people are suddenly going to vote for Doug in November.

But it definitely means something.

Tom Emmer isn’t some unknown first-time candidate trying to introduce himself to Republican voters. He is the sitting House Majority Whip, a member of Republican congressional leadership.

And even within his own party, nearly one out of every five primary voters looked at him and chose somebody else.

This’s worth noticing, because our campaign has never depended on every voter agreeing with us on every single issue. It depends on enough people deciding they are ready for something different. Tuesday gave us another reason to believe those people are out there.

The Many Versus the Money

The biggest story to come out of Minnesota Tuesday night may have come from the race for Senate.

Lt. Gov Peggy Flanagan defeated Rep. Angie Craig by a decisive margin, winning 59.02% of the DFL primary vote to Craig’s 39.38%. The numbers behind the race make the result even more impressive.

Through June 30, Craig’s campaign had raised nearly $11.9 million compared with roughly $6 million for Flanagan. Outside groups also poured millions more into advertising across all media supporting Craig and attacking Flanagan. It became one of the defining arguments of the campaign.

Could enough money, enough advertising, and enough outside influence overwhelm an organizing operation built around small donations and voters? In times past, we’ve seen the unfortunate results.

Tuesday night, Minnesotans put their collect foot in the sand and answered that question pretty emphatically. Flanagan won by nearly twenty points.

And as she put it on election night, their campaign had become about “the many versus the money.”

The many won. And Minnesota wasn’t alone.

This Is Happening Elsewhere Too

Just one week prior in Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed faced an even more dramatic financial disadvantage.

AIPAC and affiliated groups alone spent CLOSE TO $30 MILLION BACKING STEVENS, the largest investment they’ve EVER made in a single race. The AP reported that outside organizations collectively spent close to $50 million boosting her candidacy.

El-Sayed won anyway.

Earlier this year in Illinois, similarly enormous amounts of outside spending produced mixed results. AIPAC-backed candidates won two heavily targeted Democratic House primaries and lost two others, despite the millions of dollars poured into those races as well.

This isn’t evidence that money suddenly stopped mattering in American politics. We know that it hasn’t. It isn’t proof that every candidate supported by a Super PAC is doomed. We know they aren’t. What it does tell us, is that there are limits to what money can manufacture.

You can buy airtime, you can fill someone’s mailbox each and every week, you can flood their streaming services and their social media, and you can run the same ad until voters can recite it from memory.

But, you can’t purchase trust. You can’t manufacture authenticity. And at the end of the day, you can’t buy a mandate from people who have decided they want something different.

Voters All Over Are Looking for Change

There’s another pattern emerging from this year’s primary results that matters just as much. Across Minnesota, Michigan, Connecticut, Wisconsin, and elsewhere, voters are challenging the assumptions that the people with the deepest pockets, the longest résumé, or the strongest connections in Washington automatically deserve to be next in line.

The Associated Press looked across this month’s results and found something bigger than a simple left-versus-center ideological fight.

Voters. Are. Looking. For. Change.

Progressives have won some races, Moderates have won others. Younger candidates have defeated longtime incumbents. Candidates with enormous fundraising hurdles have beaten opponents backed by major organizations.

There’s no single ideological explanation for all of it, but there is a common frustration with the current political environment in this Country.

For anyone following, supporting, or donating to this campaign, this should sound pretty familiar. We’ve heard it at doors across the Sixth District for over a year. People are so tired of the political theater and this “made for TV” Administration.

We’re tired of “leaders” who spend more time polishing their nose for national audiences than listening to the people they represent.

We’re tired of being told what we’re supposed to care about while worrying about groceries, healthcare costs, housing, schools, jobs, and whether their kids will live to see 40 or be taken too soon by a once eradicated disease.

And increasingly, we’re seeing voters willing to do something about it.

Now Comes the Choice

The primary is over. The ballot is taking shape. Now the real work begins.

For months, we’ve been talking about being Ready for Better.

Now we have the chance to define what “better” actually looks like.

Better means a representative who comes home and talks to the people he serves.

Better means having a leader focused on the lives people are actually living everyday.

Better means a government that answers to the voters instead of billionaires, corporations, and Super PACs.

Better means recognizing that nobody is entitled to hold public office simply because they’ve held it for a long time, doing nothing.

If nothing else, Tuesday night was a reminder of something easy to forget in an era of billion-dollar campaigns and endless political advertising. The voters still get the last word.

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Nearly one in five Republicans in MN-06 already used theirs to choose someone other than Tom Emmer.

Again, seriously Tom…

Thousands of DFL voters used theirs to send Doug Chapin firing into the general election.

Hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans used theirs to prove that money alone can’t decide who represents them.

Now we have less than three months to make our case to everyone else.

The Super PACs will spend heavy. The attack ads on Doug will come (we’d like to wish the Emmer campaign nothing but success in their endeavors btw). The noise will get far louder than we’ve likely ever experienced.

Let them.

We’re going to watch them burn money while we keep on doing what got our campaign here in the first place.

Knocking doors. Talking to neighbors. Showing up out in the community. Kissing hands and shaking babies.

…wait, scratch that last one…I think I have it backwards…

We’ll keep doing these things because we know earning each vote one person at a time is worth it.

Because money can buy a lot of things in American politics.

A vote still isn’t one of them.

Across the Sixth - Town Halls, Game Fair, and Parades, Oh My!

If Tuesday was the official beginning of the general election, the next several days offer a pretty good picture of what the road to November is going to look like.

Town halls. Community festivals. Parades. Conversations with voters.

In other words: getting out into the Sixth District to be with our neighbors.

And we’re wasting no time.

The First Town Hall of the General Election

One week after the primary, Doug will head to Circle Pines for the campaign’s first town hall of the general election!

Tuesday, August 18 | 6–8 PM
Centennial Library | 100 Civic Heights Circle, Circle Pines

Doug summed up the moment perfectly after Tuesday’s results:

“After today’s primary, all eyes turn to November.”

The Circle Pines town hall will be an open community conversation about civics, public policy and the different ways decisions made by our government affect our everyday lives.

You don’t need to be a political expert, we wouldn’t expect you to be. You don’t need to know the terminology. And you certainly don’t need to arrive with all the answers.

Bring your questions, bring the issues you care about.

Bring that thing you’ve wondered about but never had the opportunity to ask a candidate for Congress directly.

That is exactly what a town hall is supposed to be, and frankly we’d be over the moon if Tuesday’s ended that way.

Government works better when people show up, participate in it, and have representatives willing to stand in front of their constituents and answer their questions.

The road to November starts now. Come be part of the conversation!

Find Doug at the Game Fair

Before the town hall, Doug is headed to one of the Sixth District’s biggest celebrations of Minnesota’s outdoor traditions.

Game Fair | Ramsey, MN
Friday, August 14 & Sunday, August 16

Held across 80 acres of woods and water, Game Fair has been a Minnesota tradition since 1982, bringing together hunters, anglers, dog enthusiasts, outdoor organizations, families, and exhibitors from across the state. A veritable haven for lovers of outdoorsmen and women alike!

From special dog events and archery, to outdoor demonstrations, seminars, vendors, and plenty for kids to do, there is a little bit fun for everyone.

And somewhere in the middle of it all, you’ll find your Friendly Neighborhood Congressional Candidate.

Doug will be at the Game Fair Friday and Sunday, so if you’re already planning to attend, stop by, say hello and ask him what’s on your mind. Maybe share a story or two!

Saturday Is Parade Day

And if Saturday is more your speed, we’ve got two opportunities to join the Democracy Rescue Rig on the road.

Blue Heron Days — Lino Lakes

Saturday, August 15 | 10 AM–1 PM
Parade begins at 11 AM

Blue Heron Days takes over Lino Lakes this weekend, and Team Chapin will be right in the middle of Saturday’s annual parade.

Volunteers will meet for lineup at Centennial Middle School before walking alongside Doug and the Democracy Rescue Rig through the community.

Come carry a flag or sign, hand out candy and freezies, blow some bubbles, dance to the music and help us make sure Lino Lakes knows we’re all Ready for Better.

Vadnais Heights Days — Vadnais Heights

Then we’re heading south, just down the road.

Saturday, August 15 | 3–6 PM
Parade begins at 4 PM

After Blue Heron Days wraps up, the Rig rolls on to the Vadnais Heights Days parade!

The same rules apply: flags, signs, candy, freezies, bubbles, music and as much fun and enthusiasm as you can bring!

Lineup begins at 3 PM, with the parade stepping off at 4.

For additional information on these events, upcoming door knocks, and more going on with our campaign, head over to the Doug Chapin For Congress Mobilize page.

This Is What the General Election Looks Like

There will be plenty of television ads between now and November.

Plenty of mailers, plenty of posts, polls, headlines, and national political noise.

But don’t forget, elections are still won in communities.

They’re won when someone gets to ask a candidate a question face-to-face.

When a family sees the Rescue Rig rolling down their street, bubbles and candy pouring out the back.

When a volunteer hands someone a piece of campaign material and starts a conversation.

When neighbors talk to neighbors.

The primary is behind us. Now we go everywhere. Circle Pines. Ramsey. Lino Lakes. Vadnais Heights.

And then on to the next town, and the next after that. Because this campaign sure isn’t turning the temperature down now.

82 days until election day. 13 Tuesdays to go. Let’s make every single one of them count!

#Flipthe6th #LFG #ReadyforBetter

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